Box Score The Master's got back in the win column with a 4-set win over No. 24 William Carey University (MS) at the CSM Labor Day Classic in Omaha, Neb. Friday evening.
The Lady Mustangs had less than an hour to rest, eat and get focused for this match after a grueling 5-set loss to Morningside (IA) in the first match of the day.
The No. 23-ranked TMU (5-1) had the advantage in kills (58-53), blocks (8.5-6) and hitting percentage (.225-.170)Â in the 26-24, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24 win.
"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back mentally and emotionally from that first match," said TMU Head Coach
McKenna Hafner. "It really showed a lot of mental toughness. We touched the ball better than we did (in the earlier match) and so our offense was able to be much more consistent."
Despite the quick turnaround after that long first match, TMU jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set. But four straight points from the Crusaders brought it to a 7-7 tie. Carey followed that run with two more 4-0 runs to go up 16-13, extending that lead to 21-16 moments later. But now it was The Master's turn to fight back, turning around double-set point at 24-22 and closing the set on a 4-0 run of their own to win the set 26-24.
Freshman
Macy Gebhards had three kills in those final four points.
Dominating the second set, TMU had the lead throughout with only three ties and twice falling behind by a point. After falling back 12-11, Master's scored five straight to take a commanding 16-12 lead. And while the Crusaders got to within one, it was the Lady Mustangs who closed out the set strong to win by six.
The third set was much more difficult for TMU. At first it looked like the team was going to get a 3-set sweep as they went up 11-7. But a 6-0 run put Carey up 13-11. Master's came back to tie it three times, but the Crusaders regained the momentum in the closing moments to win the et by three.
A 7-0 run helped the Lady Mustangs jump out to a 12-5 lead in the fourth, only to see the Crusaders go on a 7-2 run to get to within two at 14-12. TMU scored four of the next six points, but Carey went on a 6-1 run to tie it at 18-18 and force a Master's timeout. The teams traded points to take it to 23-23. After the Crusaders snagged set point, kills from Bella Amet, Gebhards and
McKenna Brady secured a 26-24 set win and the match to The Master's.
Amet led the way with 15 kills followed by
Macy Gebhards with 14, Kinsley Kollman with 12 and
Krista Brady adding 11.
Kate Wagner followed her career high in assists earlier in the day with another 49 in this match, giving her an average of 11.8 assists per set over nine sets. Both Wagner and
Krista Brady added four blocks each to anchor the defense.
The CSM Labor Day Classic continues for The Master's on Saturday when they face Ottawa University (KS) at 9 a.m. PT, followed by No. 20 Midland University (NE) at 1 p.m.
